Perception of distance during self-motion depends on the brain’s internal model of the terrain

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 20; no. 3; p. e0316524
• Main Authors: Zhou, Liu, He, Zijiang J., Ooi, Teng Leng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 10.03.2025; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis; Bias; Biology and Life Sciences; Brain; Brain - physiology; Coding; Cues; Depth perception; Depth Perception - physiology; Distance Perception - physiology; Earth Sciences; Female; Humans; Hypotheses; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Motion Perception - physiology; Neurophysiology; Observers; Physical Sciences; Relief models; Sensory perception; Social Sciences; Space perception; Statistical data; Terrain; Visual observation; Visual stimuli; Walking - physiology; Young Adult; United States

The body’s geometrical relationship with the terrain is important for depth perception of human and non-human terrestrial animals. Static human observers in the dark employ the brain’s internal model of the terrain, the intrinsic bias, to represent the ground as an allocentric reference frame for co...